To: Bailey; From: WHOM???

Teri called me and said, "Mom, you gotta blog about that!" About what? About what happened when you were wrapping gifts for the girls. Okay ... so I felt rather silly, why would I want to blog about that? Then again, why would I not want to blog about it? Isn't part of blogging to make fun of yourself and enjoy the laughter along with everyone else. And believe me, there are plenty of times I have to make fun of myself!

I was wrapping gifts last week -- with eight grandchildren, I like to keep some track of what I am giving them as I collect things sometimes throughout the year -- okay, if the truth be known, for the past couple months. Although, I am pretty proud of myself actually. Not long after Christmas, I came upon a sale on clothes for my girls and their guys. It was one of those 75 percent off the already sale price so I made a real steal. I put them in the back of my closet and promptly forgot them! Fortunately, I needed to find something in my closet (which is one of those long walk-in closets) -- and voila! There was Christmas! I had lots of stuff I had forgotten I had.

So now I have gotten sidetracked from the 'real story. I made the list, checked it twice and it didn't matter who was naughty or nice, they were all getting approximately the same value -- give or take a little. I asked Shonna to help me load up the gifts for Teri and her girls in bigger bags so as not to make oodles of trips to my van. She did and then stopped! "Uh, Mom ... who is "Pants"?" "Pants? What do you mean, 'Who is Pants?'" She brought a gift to me and very nicely and neatly, I had written -- "To: Bailey; From: Pants".

I guess I really got carried away when I was making my list -- didn't check it twice obviously -- or I would have caught that I wrote what the 'gift' for Bailey was on the "From" line -- rather than on the actual list itself. I better find out if I wrote "Nana" on the gift list. Perhaps I am giving myself away this year!

Oh, well ... so, girls .. I have done what you asked. I blogged about a crazy thing in my life. Of course, to do so is not a stretch most days! It seems to be a daily occurrence!

"Christmas Without Snow" -- Snow foolin'!

I opened our newspaper (St. Pete Times) this morning and there was an entire page dedicated to "Christmas Without Snow" .... along with the urging to send this link to your northern friends. It's cute ... Enjoy!! And you may want to even sing along ... lol!

"Christmas Without Snow"

Kids will sing and laugh and play on a sunny shore today;
Santa will not need a sleigh, Christmas without snow!
Bright star just like Bethlehem, Palm trees we've a lot of them;
Come now let us sing a hymn, Christmas without snow!

Chorus:
Snow, snow, snow, No, no, no, So, so so, Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!!

Santa pack your summer clothes and some salve for Rudolph's nose;
Sunburn always makes it glow, Christmas without snow!
Santa bring your water skis, Ice cream snowballs if you please;
It is 81 degrees, Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

Even jolly Frosty Snowman will leave town as fast as he can
To avoid a fatal suntan, Christmas without snow!
Even little Suzy Snowflake will become a crispy cornflake
When she hits our torrid landscape, Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

Santa's elves will wear their shades way down in the Everglades,
Never mind the hurricanes, Christmas without snow!
Alligators celebrate, They think Christmas Day is great!
They all look like they just ate, Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

Dolphins wear their Christmas hats and resemble acrobats,
Reindeer wish they could do that, Christmas without snow!
A happy bird will get his wish on Christmas Eve his favorite dish,
That pelican can really fish, Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

Christmas kitty's little will get a case of sandy claws,
Where Mr. Shark shows off his jaws, Christmas without snow!
In Florida old Mr. Scrooge will change his humbug attitude,
Hawaiian shirts improve his mood,
Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

If you like sleet and yucky slush or husky dogs that you can mush,
Away from here you better rush, Christmas without snow!
If you like Christmas in the sun and pink flamingos by the ton
Then join us for some yuletide fun, Christmas without snow!
(Chorus)

Tasha Lee ....

That is the name that Tyler has given his baby sister -- except that his parents seem to know nothing about this other than what he is telling them. He is emphatic that he will have a new baby sister by next Christmas. I think his mom is a little scared about this since he prayed for snow in Indiana and they got a blizzard -- does that mean that there might actually be a baby sister and that it might even be twins?!

Grandchildren make life so interesting and lots of fun ... at least, for the most part. I was raised with four brothers but I think my three grandsons who live nearby have way more energy than my four brothers did! Or maybe I was too entranced by 'guys' to be too stressed by active brothers. Who knows?

By the way, I love the song, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" ... but our weather hasn't cooperated too much so I guess I'll just have to rely on the 'look' of brilliantly decorated homes and long lines at the shopping centers. With lows in the 60's and highs in the mid-70's, it just doesn't lend itself for even using our fireplace! Oh, well .. I should be happy I'm not shoveling snow or scraping ice off the windshields. I'll trade singing that song any day before I'd want to do that on a regular basis.

Have a wonderful weekend!

An awesome Christmas!!

I love it when our kids outdo themselves with their Christmas gifts. And the excitement they have takes me back when they were little girls -- so excited by the things they made for Mom and Dad -- knowing that those gifts are the most special.

Soooo ... last night, we celebrate Christmas with three of the girls. We all contributed to dinner -- a turkey (25 pounds so it will last ALL through the holiday season for sure), mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green salad, bread, and all kinds of Christmas goodies for desert. We decided to not have dressing/stuffing this time. Roxanne set the table complete with candlelight. I was finishing up dinner when I heard Tim and Sandi arrive with the strict instruction to me, "Stay in the kitchen!!" We have a somewhat open floor plan in our living room / dining room / living room so that meant I had to stay in one corner of my kitchen. I am not claustrophobic but having to stay right there for a little while was beginning to make me think I could become -- just a little claustrophobic. My sink looks into the living room which meant I couldn't even venture that far away from my corner. Hey, I was good when I was a kid and NEVER had to stand or stay in a corner. You'd think that after 58 years, I wouldn't have to do it now. I wondered if I might look like a dog or something when I heard the words, "Stay!"

I heard Tim call for Chris and Ron to help him and I was beginning to wonder 'what in the world' was going on. Then I heard them say they were going into my bedroom. Horrors! I had stuff all over the place from wrapping gifts and addressing Christmas card envelopes!! Finally, they said, "Okay, let's eat -- but, Mom, you have to stay out of your bedroom!!" Okay, then!!

We ate amidst lots of activity - when you have three boys, ages 4, 7 and 9, things can get a little hectic. I have a perfect racetrack in my house -- even though there are a couple steps along the way, they never seem to lose momentum!! So, we ate and then the girls just couldn't wait anymore! "Mom, you gotta see this!!" And this is what I found in my bedroom! The perfect gift since I have been wanting to get one for quite a while and know it is really necessary if I am going to stay healthy and drop some of those unnecessary pounds that seem to be so stubborn to lose.

They did tell me that it was just one part of my gift but quite frankly, this was rather overwhelming to say the least. I have been wanting to walk more but it seems to easy to put off going to the mall to walk or going around our neighborhood. I have NO more excuses!! And that is good!

We shared more gifts and had lots of fun and laughter -- again, sometimes amid boys having fun or acting more like brothers than cousins! They love each other but can also irritate each other in a heartbeat! If it gets too crazy for me, I just go in another room for a few minutes .. take a deep breath and enter the fray again!

The girls handed me a box that weighed nothing at all! I thought .. what in the world is this? Just a bunch of air although if you shook it, there was some slight movement. Inside, I found this:

This certificate entitles

Mom

to a

"Girls' Weekend (or weeknights) Away"

From the women in your life --

Roxanne, Sandi, Teri and Shonna

and Rachel will be joing us as well!!

Merry Christmas!!

Wow, what a gift!! I enjoy friends but the most fun I have is spending time with my girls and my sister. We laugh -- we can talk (all of us a mile a minute -- scary, huh?) I'm sure we will have a great time -- what greater gift could I ask for -- and the treadmill was just the icing on the cake -- or Christmas cookies! Thanks, girls, for an awesome Christmas already! I am indeed blessed beyond measure!!

Four plus four equals grandkids!!

I have spent time with all eight of the grandkids this week ... this evening, it was Christmas with the St. Pete crowd since Roxanne and Chris are heading to Atlanta for Christmas. On Tuesday, it was Christmas in Winter Haven with the four Messner young'uns! So ... thought I'd share a couple photos, of course! What's a blog without a photo ... just that, a blog!

In the photo above, it's Regan, 10, me (duh), Rudy, 7 months, Marley, 11 and Bailey, 8.

The St Pete bunch .. Kamen, 9, Tyler, 7, Rudy, 4, Kasi, 17 (and me!)

I actually got one good photo!!!

Kamen wasn't necessarily thrilled by his mom and Nana's insistence on a photo op right after his program. And it wasn't necessarily easy to even find him amid about 150 kids or so -- give or take a few! By the time they dismissed and urged the parents to come find their kids, everything was chaotic! I'm sure there must have been some lost parents along the way.

It was pretty funny watching a couple first graders make shadow puppets on the wall as they stood, singing. Top row -- turning totally around and facing the wall. You could see the teachers on their way. Who me??? What was I doing??

I wondered what must go on in the minds of those little ones -- they had to sit for about thirty minutes or so. They amused each other or their parents -- or rather, their parents were probably not particularly amused by their antics. Yet, you could see parents waving back to the kids who loved to wave as they were singing -- on tune? Maybe, part of the time. But, that's what makes a kids' program so special. It is simply kids -- doing what kids do best. Sing a little, wave when they find Mom or Dad or Grandma ... turn around in circles a couple times, oops, losing our balance, are we? No one fell of the stage. Well, I take that back -- no one actually fell of the stage but the emergency personnel came when one of the kids barrelled down the aisle prior to the program and promptly landed (head first) on the pointed edge of one of the rows of seats. He appeared to be okay other than blood spurting from the wound.

Me? I was racing in at the last minute -- making it through Tampa traffic (a little after rush hour), dropping Shonna off and all of her belongings -- and finding a parking place at the back of the lot -- in a dark parking lot -- okay, I'm sort of adding to the story for effects although it was dark where I was parking. (I didn't mention that there were a lot of other folks arriving -- enough to have a cop directing the traffic.)

You always enjoy seeing a child who so enjoys what he or she is doing that they sing above the rest of the crowd. You are always afraid that if you laugh, you will find out that a parent of that child is sitting right next to you!!

What a neat evening! Lots of fun ... it's such a delight to watch a room full of kindergarten through third graders try to dazzle their parents. And the parents try to dazzle the crowd by dressing them to the nines in their Christmas dresses. Too bad they don't always train their girls to sit properly on a stage ... lol!! Oh, well ...

On to the good photo of Kamen and his mom ...

An unhappy Jesus ...

Teri's girls told me about their Christmas program. I'm sure there was much singing and a Nativity scene as well. Rudy played the part of Jesus ... well, perhaps he insisted that he would rather not play the part of Jesus so as the kids sang, Rudy "howled", as Teri described it! I'm sure Jesus cried as any baby would -- but his crying was not an angry cry such as Rudy's was!

What photos!!

Our friends, Bob and Roxanne Bair, forwarded these photos of their granddaughter. We've known her mommy, Kim, since she was born -- actually, (my) Bob performed the wedding of her parents. Her daddy, Bob, attended our first pastorate -- way back in 1969!! Wow! I just had to share these two when Shy was heading out on her first sledding adventure!!

I'm sure I will have pictures of Tyler in the snow as soon as they get home!! They had to buy snow boots for him in Indiana. The sun was so bright today when they were driving home that Tim had to buy sun glasses!! Go figure!

The Christmas Rewind, Part Two

Well ... sort of. Here is the inside of Roxanne's program. It was an awesome program -- filled with tradition yet also a different approach to the Christmas story. You could feel the Spirit of Christ in the service along with lots of laughter as a five-member cast brought the Christmas story to the 21st century.

Now we are in the countdown mode -- and that's a little scary to see if we can get everything done!